Thousands rally in Rome, Italy for rival pro- and anti-migration marches

Tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets of the Italian capital for rival demonstrations over migration policy, as a far-right proposal seeking hardline migration measures is set to advance to discussion in parliament.

An anti-migration march in Rom’s Prati neighbourhood on Saturday drew several thousand participants, while a competing pro-migration event in a separate part of the city attracted tens of thousands.

Thousands of police were also deployed to ensure the two rival groups would remain apart.

The demonstrations come after a petition advocating for sweeping measures targeting foreigners – including coercive returns to their countries of origin – gathered the 50,000 signatures needed to trigger parliamentary discussion.

Named “Remigration and Reconquest,” the petition has pushed the once-fringe concept of “remigration” – which in far-right contexts can mean the mass deportation of ethnic minorities – into the political mainstream.

“We want to kick the illegal immigrants out – force them out, because they shouldn’t be here,” Luca Marsella, spokesman for the neofascist group Casapound, said at the anti-migrant rally Saturday.

“And since we’re not politically correct, we’ll say we want to send the legal immigrants home, too – the ones who clearly haven’t assimilated or integrated.”

On several occasions during the anti-migrant march, many participants raised their arms in a fascist salute, shouting “Duce! Duce!,” in reference to Italian dictator Benito Mussolini, reported The Associated Press.